


Ik huil alleen bij jou

by SenorCasillas



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-05 02:14:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13377972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenorCasillas/pseuds/SenorCasillas
Summary: Max wasn’t the kind of person to cry, but at that moment he wanted nothing more. He wanted to scream, wail, anything, but he was stuck, couldn’t even get tears to appear in his eyes.





	1. Baku

**Author's Note:**

> So first off I changed my username, used to be DinosaurDeryck, just wanted to mention that  
> And then I change it to a football name and the first thing I post is non-football stuff hah
> 
> Anyway, first time diving into F1, got the idea after the sofa video, was suppose to be just a one-shot but it turned into more. I'm actually really nervous about posting this so I hope it's enjoyable?  
> Title comes from a Dutch song, I wanted to write something based on it for a while but I didn't know with who/what

Max wasn’t the kind of person who would cry easily, wasn’t someone who thought that crying would help make you feel better. He didn’t like to cry, didn’t like seeing others cry as well, he never knew what to do when someone cried in front of him and usually ended up patting their back awkwardly, waiting for it to be over. He couldn’t even remember the last time he cried, it probably was way back when he was still a cute little child and the tiniest inconvenience would make him cry. He remembered his dad would always tell him to ‘man up’, because boys apparently didn’t cry, and it probably was the reason why he didn’t like crying in general, now that he was old enough to be considered an adult.

However, all of that got thrown out of the window after his race in Baku.

He had just gotten back from press duties, he didn’t feel like sticking around in the garage to watch Daniel’s race, he was too frustrated to deal with all of that. Third race he had to retire because of a technical issue, it was absolutely ridiculous. He had nothing nice to say to his engineers so he figured he might as well not say anything at all and head straight to his motorhome, so that he could hopefully relax, but he couldn’t.

The frustrations didn’t go away, they just kept building up in his mind, he even got to a point where he started to doubt himself. Maybe he was pushing his car too much. Maybe he should pipe down on the aggressive driving style he had adapted as his own and be more like Daniel, maybe then his race car wouldn’t fail on him half the time.

He had been lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling to clear his mind, but it wasn’t enough. He sat up first, then stood up, fists clenched, nails digging into his palm. The anger was building up inside him and he didn’t know how to get rid of it. He couldn’t stop thinking about the races he couldn’t finish this season, he had good chances in all of them, he could have finished on the podium if his luck just hadn’t been so absolute shit. What made it all worse is that Daniel did see the podium for three races in a row, why couldn’t he have that same luck?

He grabbed the nearest thing he could grab, a half empty water bottle, and threw it against the wall. He was so full of emotions but didn’t know how to get rid of them. The next item flung across the room was a stress ball, then a handful of papers, the hat he was wearing, but it wasn’t enough, it did nothing to release the stress he was feeling inside.

Max wasn’t the kind of person to cry, but at that moment he wanted nothing more. He wanted to scream, wail, anything, but he was stuck, couldn’t even get tears to appear in his eyes. He punched the wall hard, leaving an indentation in the wall and his hand throbbing in pain, but even that wasn’t enough to tear up.

He somewhat got pulled out of his thoughts when there was a light knock on his door. He ignored it at first, but when the knocking just got louder he gave in and opened the door.

“What” he snapped, not even looking to see who it was.

“Uuuh, is everything alright?” the person asked in a very familiar accent.

Max eyed the person, who turned out to be Daniel. He didn’t even realize how much time had passed, and a quick glance at the clock told him that the race was already over for a while. He contemplated on what to do for a bit, and then looked away again. “Yeah, I’m fine”. He was about to close the door again but Daniel stopped him.

“You don’t sound fine” Daniel pointed out, but the only response he got was a shrug. “Come on Max, you can talk to me” he tried again, and this time Max let him inside.

Daniel looked around, and found several items discarded onto the floor, a hole in the wall and Max standing with his back turned towards him, arms crossed. Max definitely didn’t look like he was fine, and Daniel couldn’t blame him, having to retire four out of the first eight races would be hard on any of the drivers. His own success probably didn’t make Max feel any better either, maybe he should hide that he won this race, just for a little while..

“Do you want to talk about it?” Daniel asked, hoping he could help his teammate to feel a little better.

“No” Max responded, not even bothering to turn around.

“Do you want me to.. distract you or something?” Daniel then asked, letting out a small sigh of frustration.

Max just shrugged this time.

Daniel rubbed his face, Max obviously wasn’t going to co-operate, so he just had to come up with something himself. He took a few slow steps closer to Max, waiting for a reaction, and when nothing happened he slowly wrapped his arms around him. Daniel closed his eyes, waiting for Max to punch him or anything else, but when again nothing happened he slowly opened them again.

Max was staring at him, unsure of what to do or say, and then took a step away from Daniel. He dropped his arms to his side, and then quickly looked down in an attempt to hide his emotions from his teammate.

Daniel gave him a soft smile and held his arms out. Max looked up at him again, then at his arms, And slowly closed the distance between them. He hid his face in Daniel’s shoulder, hands gripping the back of his shirt tightly as he softly sobbed. Daniel held him close, one hand rubbing Max’ back and the other softly stroking his hair.

“ ‘s okay, just let it all out” Daniel whispered, and that’s all it took for Max to start crying. Daniel could feel his shirt getting soaked but he didn’t care, his teammate needed him, and even though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he would do anything for this kid.

Daniel ran his fingers through Max’s hair, whispered sweet little nothings into his ear, anything to help him feel better. He just hoped Max wouldn’t think anything of it, as much as he wanted Max to be aware of his feelings for him, this wasn’t the right time to talk about them.

Slowly but surely Max’s sobs started to die down, they became more quiet and less frequent. Daniel didn’t loosen his grip on Max though, and continued to rub his back, even after Max had gone completely quiet. Max just enjoyed the moment, the feeling of someone holding him, caring about him, something he had been missing for a long time.

They both stayed like that until Daniel’s stomach growled, and a small blush of embarrassment appeared on his face. Max moved back a little to look at his teammate and giggled lightly, but blushed even harder than Daniel when his stomach roared as well.

“I think it’s time to go eat something, Maxy” Daniel said with a smile on his face.


	2. Hungary

He fucked up, he really fucked up so badly this time. It was just one stupid mistake, one moment where he lost control over his car and hit the one person he never wanted to hit. It was much worse than that even, he took him out of the race, stole his chances of his sixth podium this year, and all that in the first lap of the race. He knew about Daniel’s frustration, saw the middle finger, heard his exact words to the team and to the press, Max needed a miracle for Daniel to forgive him for this.

He was hoping that he could sneak off after press duties, skip the earful Christian Horner was surely going to give him, and head straight to Daniel, so that he could properly apologize. Even though he was dreading the moment, didn’t want to see the disappointment in Daniel’s eyes, hear it in his voice, just be confronted with how bad the thing he did was, he knew it was the best thing to do. Max had almost made his way out of the garage when a hand grabbed his arm and stopped him.

It was Christian, of course it was, Max should have known he wouldn’t be able to just sneak by, but he had been praying for a miracle. It seemed life didn’t want to give him a break though, and he was dragged away to a small room where Christian let him know exactly how he felt about Max’ move on Daniel.

Max just accepted the verbal beating, sat with his hands in his hair, frustration and anger creeping through his body again, or had they never really left after the fatal move? He repeated every negative word Christian said a million times in his mind, it felt like he really deserved it. He had let Christian down, he had let the team down, and worst of all he had let Daniel down.

“Are you even listening?” Christian said in an irritated tone.

Max looked up at him and bit his lip. “I am! I know I fucked up, I know I disappointed everyone, I just want to.. apologize to Daniel and then forget this race ever happened..” he sighed, looking down again and rubbing his temples.

“That’s exactly what we want you to do, Daniel has been waiting here for you, I’ll let you two talk in private now” the boss stated and then left the room.

Max’ hands went to his hair again, pulling on the strands to both punish himself and to try and get rid of some frustrations. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear Daniel enter the room.

“Max?” Daniel spoke softly.

Max immediately jumped up from his chair and looked at Daniel, but as soon as they made eye-contact Max looked away again. He couldn’t look Daniel in the eyes, he felt so embarrassed, so stupid and dumb for what he did.

Daniel waited for Max to talk, which took a while because Max was trying to find the right words to say, but his mind was failing him miserably. Nothing he came up with sounded good enough, it was all just a rambling mess, he couldn’t think of anything that would make Daniel forgive him for sure. Max took a deep breath, he couldn’t let Daniel wait forever either, so he’d just open his mouth and see what would come out.

“Daniel.. I’m so so sorry.. What I did was very stupid and.. and I really didn’t mean to end your race.. I just wanted to make up for lost ground, I just had to be too damn aggressive like always but it cost you this time, I’m so sorry I never meant to hit you.. I just.. I lost control of the car for a bit.. I should have just stayed behind you.. you surely would have gotten another podium spot if it wasn’t for me..” Max rambled, staring at the ground and clenching his fists, getting increasingly frustrated and angry at himself.

“Max, it’s okay” Daniel replied.

“No it’s not okay! You’re my teammate I should have never done something so risky while you were closest to me! I was just so frustrated, nothing had been going my way and I was jealous of you too and I wanted to prove so badly that I could get on the podium as well, I was so blinded by the need to prove myself that I completely didn’t care about hitting you for a moment, I just wanted to have one good race.. but instead I fucked it up for the whole team..” Max continued. He was starting to shake with rage, he was so angry with himself, so mad that he had been so selfish.

“Max..” Daniel sighed softly. He walked to Max, but stopped when Max stepped away from him. “Come here Maxy..” he said as he grabbed Max’s arm and pulled him in for a hug.

Max immediately wrapped his arms around Daniel, hands gripping Daniel’s shirt as he hid his face in Daniel’s shoulder. He cried, tried so hard not to but the moment his nose was buried in Daniel’s shirt he couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

“I’m not mad anymore, I watched the footage and there wasn’t much you could do”. Daniel rubbed Max’s back and pressed his cheek against Max’s hair. “I’m sorry too, I overreacted, I was way too harsh on you. I knew you didn’t mean to do it but, I don’t know I guess the adrenaline fuelled my anger and I just took it all out on you, and that was wrong of me to do. I forgive you Maxy, and I promise I won’t take all my frustrations out on you anymore” he explained, hugging Max a little tighter afterwards.

“So you don’t.. hate me for it..?” Max mumbled, still sobbing a little bit.

“I could never hate you, no one else but you laughs at my stupid jokes” Daniel said, giggling a little.

A small smile appears on Max’ face. “That can’t be true” he replied.

“Oh believe me, I’ve tried, many times, some of the drivers are so sick of me that I have to run if they’re even near enough to hear my jokes”.

“Is ‘bwoah’ one of them?” Max asked, tilting his head a little so that he could look up at Daniel.

“Oh yeah, he hates them so much he’ll throw the closest object he can find at me, even if it’s a first place trophy he just won” Daniel laughed.

Max let out a light chuckle. He was so glad and relieved that nothing seemed to have changed between him and Daniel, he didn’t know what he’d do if he’d ever lose him.


	3. Singapore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of feel like I tend to repeat certain things in this fic, so I hope it's not ruining anything

Max made his way back to the garage. After he was done with his driver duties, he headed straight to his motorhome. He didn’t feel like sticking around, didn’t want to watch Daniel’s race, it would only have a negative effect on him. The one time he does amazing on a Saturday his Sunday goes to shit before he even made it past the first corner. He just needed to distract himself, get his mind off of racing, because he knew thinking about it would just make things worse. He’d just get angry again, his feelings would build up inside him, it would just get to a point where it was unbearable, and he’d have no way to get rid of it. The only person who could help him was still in the race, so he just waited until it was over before he emerged himself with Formula 1 again.

Max leaned against the wall, hiding away somewhere in a corner where he wouldn’t easily be spotted. He still didn’t feel like talking, he only went back because there was one person he wanted to see, so the less people would notice he was there the better. He moved his cap down a little, covering his face more, hoping it would help him to stay anonymous. The race was over, podium antics were done, interviews had been finished, Daniel could be there any minute now.

He showed up, just a few minutes later, sandwich in his hand as he was talking to one of his engineers. The bright iconic smile visible on his face was very contagious, Max found himself smiling too, even though the race gave him no reason to smile. He took a deep breath, removed himself from the wall and walked towards Daniel.

“Hey” Max said, trying to be casual.

“Hey Maxy”. Daniel’s smile seemed to grow as he noticed Max. “What are you doing here? The boys told me you left as soon as you could”.

Max was taken aback a little, he didn’t want to admit the real reason he wanted to see Daniel. It was stupid really, how only Daniel could help him feel better, Max felt extremely embarrassed by it, but luckily his bullshit skills were on point today.

“I came to congratulate you on another podium, you’re doing really well this year” Max answered.

Daniel’s smile grew once again. “Thanks, yeah this year has been crazy so far, I think I can almost reserve a spot on the podium by now” he chuckled.

Max smiled, trying to cover up the pain he was feeling inside. He had only been up there once this season, and that while they only had six more races to go. He couldn’t let Daniel see how much it affected him though, he didn’t want to ruin the moment for him. “How’s your sandwich?”.

“It’s really good, it’s nice to get some food in my belly, racing always makes me so hungry” Daniel answered, giving his stomach a little pat.

“Yeah me too, I had a sandwich as well but it wasn’t that nice” Max replied, watching Daniel’s face for a reaction, would he get the joke?

“Oh? What was on it?” Daniel asked, looking a bit confused.

Max smiled and shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it tasted Italian, with a hint of something German and Finnish, It wasn’t a good combination”.

Daniel started to laugh. “Oh, that kind of sandwich, yeah I can’t imagine that tasting good as well, must have tasted a bit old too” he grinned.

Max nodded. “It was so bad that my sides were hurting, I’m never eating that again” he chuckled.

“Are you feeling alright now?” Daniel asked, his tone suddenly more serious than before.

Max stayed quiet for a bit, did nothing but stare at something that was behind Daniel, to make it seem like he was still keeping eye-contact. This is what he wanted, to be able to talk about it with Daniel again so that he could feel better, but he was scared to admit it. He tried to fake a smile, but ended up looking down at Daniel’s feet and then shook his head. It was hard to lie to Daniel, he just couldn’t do it.

Daniel smiled softly, walked closer to Max and patted his arm. “Come, let’s talk” he said, pulling on Max’s arm to get him to come along.

Max gave him a thankful smile as they made their way to Daniel’s motorhome, and in return Daniel ruffled Max’ hair. By the time they reached the door, Daniel had finished his sandwich and was struggling to get his door open. He was still wearing his racing suit too, Max figured he must have found Daniel right after he was done with all his press duties.

After Daniel finally got the door open he stepped inside, holding it open so that Max could join him. Max immediately stepped closer to Daniel, arms apart, ready to get the hug he so desperately wanted, but Daniel took a step backwards.

“Wait, you’ve already showered right? You’re going to get your clean clothes dirty if you hug me now” Daniel quickly explained after he saw the hurt expression on Max’s face.

“You’ve made me drink out of your dirty, sweaty shoe, several times even” Max pointed out.

“And you enjoyed it” Daniel chuckled. “Alright, but don’t blame me if you end up smelling bad” he said, and then spread his arms.

Max wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Daniel and went for his favourite position, face buried in Daniel’s shoulder, hands gripping Daniel’s thin shirt on his back. He didn’t cry this time, or well, not as much as the other times, and without making any sounds.

Daniel definitely had a strong scent coming from him, it was easy to tell he hadn’t had time to freshen up after the race. Most of it was sweat, but there was a hint of something else underneath, Daniel’s own smell, something Max had come to love.

Daniel’s arms found his way around Max, one rubbing his back like he had always done, and one in Max’s hair, gently massaging his scalp. Daniel felt bad, both because of Max’s bad luck and because Daniel secretly wished it would never end. He secretly hoped Max’s races would continue to be frustrating because it meant that Max would keep coming to him, it meant the hugs wouldn’t end.

Daniel had his own little reason for that, he always had trouble sleeping the night after the race. The whole weekend would just be running through his mind, got his adrenaline pumping as he remembered the close calls and exciting battles, and it kept him awake. It wasn’t as much of a problem as it was just plain annoying, but Max managed to fix it. After the race in Baku he slept like a log, he had never slept that well after a race, and his night’s rest after the grand prix in Hungary was great as well. He didn’t fully understand why, but he didn’t care that much anyway.

Max eventually moved back, and let out a deep sigh. “Thank you for that” he said smiling.

Daniel smiled back. “No problem, do you still want to talk about the race or not?” he then asked.

Max bit his lip. “You sure you want to hear me complain the entire time?”.

Daniel nodded. “Yep, absolutely, I want to hear all about how much you hate Seb and Kimi” he chuckled.

Max rolled his eyes and smiled. “I don’t hate them, I’m just.. mildly annoyed with Seb, that is all” he explained.

“Mildly annoyed? And what about Kimi?” Daniel asked.

“Kimi didn’t do anything wrong, he had a great start, had every reason to be on my left side, it was Seb who pushed me into him” Max answered, crossing his arms. “And I’m only mildly annoyed because, well I suppose Seb was only trying to defend his position, if he had known Kimi was there he would have never pushed so much”.

“.. But?” Daniel replied.

Max sighed and looked around the room away from Daniel. “But I saw that the Ferrari twitter account immediately blamed me for the crash, can you believe that? I was in the middle, there was nothing, absolutely nothing I could have done to prevented it and they blame me? What was I supposed to do? Hit the brakes so hard that everyone behind me would crash?” he ranted.

“That’s what you’re most upset about? Some stupid tweet from Ferrari? What about not being able to finish a race again?” Daniel asked.

Max looked down at his feet. “To be honest.. at this point I’ve just accepted that it’s gonna be like this for the rest of the season.. Either I’m not going to finish because someone else crashed into me or I have a mechanical problem, and if I do finish the race it’s going to be fourth, tops. There’s no point in getting upset over all this, I should just accept it..” he mumbled, then let out a sigh.

Daniel stepped closer, put his hands on Max’s shoulders and shook him a little. “Hey, you can’t think like that, I know you’ve had a real shitty season but you can’t just accept defeat, you have to fight for it every race, show them what you’re worth! Stuff like this happens sometimes, things don’t always go your way, you have to work for your victories okay? You can’t work hard when you’re just going to give up” he advised, squeezing Max’s shoulders to emphasise his point.

Max still didn’t look at Daniel. “Easy for you to say..”.

“Max listen to me, you are extremely talented, I know you have it in you to become a world champion, but that won’t happen when you give up after it gets tough for a while. Every race is a new fight, a new opportunity to show the world what you can do. Did you forget what you did in Brazil last year? I wish I had moves like that in the rain” Daniel replied. He moved one hand to Max’s cheek, moving his face up so that he could properly look him in the eyes.

“You really mean that?” Max asked carefully, finally looking at Daniel.

“I do, you’re almost as good as I am” he answered smiling.

Max smiled at Daniel, and then bit his lip. Tears were starting to form in his eyes again, he tried to stop it, tried to suck it up but it was useless. He hated looking this weak in front of his teammate. Max tried to turn his head away again, but Daniel’s other hand moved to Max’s other cheek, giving him no chance of looking away.

“It’s okay to feel down over a race, but at the end of the day you have to pick yourself up again, every single race you have to give it your all, you have to pretend that it’s the only race that matters” Daniel explained.

“I know, it’s just so hard sometimes” Max sobbed, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the tears.

“It is, but you can do it, I believe in you Maxy” he said, then wrapped his arms around Max to pull him in for another hug.

Max’s head found his way onto Daniel’s shoulder again, arms tightly around Daniel’s waist to hold him as close as possible. “ ‘m sorry.. I.. I never cry but.. somehow when I’m around you I can’t help it..” Max muttered against Daniel’s shirt.

“That’s actually quite flattering, thank you” Daniel responded, as he sneakily planted a kiss on Max’s head, praying he wouldn’t notice.

“How?” Max asked as he moved back a little, just so that he could look at Daniel’s face.

“Well, it means that you’re able to feel vulnerable around me, you trust me enough to show me that side of you” Daniel answered, smiling at Max.

Max gave Daniel a small smile back. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m really glad I have you as my teammate”.

“Me too”.


	4. Malaysia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really happy with how this turned out, not in terms of what happens, but how it's written

He did it, he finally did it. Not only did he manage to pass the finish line, he was the first one to do it. He finally got another podium, finally got another win, finally another great race to boost up his spirit. When he crossed the line it felt like he was flying, instead of driving in his car, he almost forgot how good it felt.

Usually he never wanted a race to end, but this time he was glad when he could finally get out of the car. About halfway throughout the race he started feeling a bit sick, and it got worse the closer he got to the end. It was all still bearable, it didn’t mess with his concentration too much, but he wasn’t so sure if he could have kept going for another 5 laps. It was nice to finally be able to get some rest, well, after the whole circus of celebrations were over.

The red bull he got in the cool down room helped long enough to get him through everything, by the end of it he felt more than ready to relax. He wasn’t tired, it was the opposite in fact, he felt very energetic and a little high, most likely from winning, feeling sick and the Malaysian heat. He didn’t know how and if he’d be able to get himself to relax yet, but he was sure he’d figure something out.

He wandered back to his motorhome, getting lost in his own thoughts. It was difficult to focus, his mind would jump from one thing to the other, and at some point he just gave up. Some of the things on his mind were the race, Daniel, sugary drinks, Daniel again, the race he just had, and Daniel once more. He was glad when he finally arrived at his door so that he could find something to distract himself, but frowned when his keys seemed to magically not fit anymore. Suddenly the door opened, revealing Daniel, who looked just as confused as Max was.

“Hey, Max, what a pleasant surprise” Daniel said smiling.

Max responded with a goofy smile. He definitely didn’t mean to show up here, but now that he was here he didn’t even want to leave anymore. He knew that he’d have fun with Daniel no matter what they did, he knew that he was in good hands.

Daniel stepped aside so that Max could walk in. “Do you want some more sugar?” Daniel asked, snickering lightly.

Max giggled a little. “Do you have another red bull then?” he asked in return.

Daniel scratched the back of his head. “Uuhh.. anyway! Why are you here?”.

“I came here to talk about the race” Max lied. He couldn’t tell Daniel he accidentally walked to the wrong motorhome, he would never hear the end of it if he admitted that.

“Oh, yeah sure, great race from you today, I told you that you could do it” Daniel responded, smiling wide at Max.

Max shrugged. “It was mostly luck, if Kimi could’ve started the race things would have been very different” He said.

“What? No!” Daniel exclaimed, putting his hands on Max’s shoulders and shaking him a little “That move on Lewis was amazing! And, taking the lead is one thing, keeping the lead is another, you did great, it’s not easy to stay in first for almost the entire race” He explained, squeezing Max’s shoulders to emphasize his point.

Max stared at Daniel, and then suddenly started to grin. “I knew I had a good race, I just wanted to hear you compliment me” he chuckled.

Daniel pushed his bottom lip out and punched Max’s arm, and Max pouted back in return.

“That hurt” Max said, pretending to sound hurt. He gave Daniel the saddest puppy dog eyes while he rubbed his arm.

“But- ugh, okay I’m sorry” Daniel huffed, crossing his arms.

Max tilted his head downwards a bit, looking at Daniel through his eyelashes, while he still pouted.

Daniel sighed and held his arms out. “Alright, I’m actually sorry, it was a good joke, you got me, I admit defeat oh glorious prank master Max” Daniel apologized, as a grin grew on his face. He hoped Max would go in for the hug, he seemed to be in a very playful mood and Daniel was just desperate to get the hug he so badly needed in order to be able to fall asleep quickly.

Max watched Daniel for a bit, checking if he was joking or not. He bit his lip, and then did something that surprised the both of them.

Daniel almost dropped Max when he jumped into his arms, he quickly moved his arm under Max’s butt so that he wouldn’t slide down further. Daniel was very confused, and it only got worse when Max was giggling in his shoulder. This was definitely not the kind of hug he was expecting from a happy Max, but he wasn’t complaining either.

Max wrapped his legs around Daniel’s hips to get more grip, He breathed in, taking in Daniel’s scent, and then giggled again. He wasn’t even sure why he was giggling, maybe it was the noise Daniel made when he jumped on him, maybe it was the jokes he was making earlier, maybe it was a mixture of both. Maybe the sickness and heat was getting to his head and he wasn’t thinking clear anymore.

Max sighed, finally being done with giggling, and then moved his head so that he could press his forehead against Daniel’s. He stared into Daniel’s eyes, getting lost in their colour, and a small blush appeared on his cheeks when he realized what he was doing.

Daniel stared back, as a sudden urge popped up inside of him. The longer Max stared, the stronger the urge got, and when Daniel noticed Max’s pink cheeks he couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He tilted his head slightly, moving it forward as his eyes closed. His lips brushed against Max’s and a small gasp came from Max’s mouth. Daniel immediately moved his head back and looked at Max again, watching his expression to try and read if he fucked up or not.

Instead of the anger or confusion Daniel was expecting, there was a content smile on Max’s face. He closed his eyes as his head moved back to Daniel’s shoulder again, and then he hummed happily. Daniel smiled as well, relieved to know that he didn’t do anything to push Max away from him.

They stayed like that for a bit, although Max slowly loosened his grip on Daniel, Daniel continued to hold him up for as long as he could. Eventually Max became too heavy for Daniel and he slowly put him down. Max was wobbling on his feet, and Daniel had to hold him close to make sure he wouldn’t fall.

“Max, hey Maxy, look at me, are you alright?” Daniel asked, as he grabbed Max’s chin to try and lift his face.

Max looked at Daniel for a second, but then leaned his head against Daniel’s shoulder again. “ ‘m sorry.. fuck I feel so.. so dizzy.. ‘m sorry..” he sighed. His hands gripped Daniel’s shirt at his shoulders, as he was trying to get a hold of himself.

“Don’t be sorry for that, shall I take you to your hotel room so you can rest there?” Daniel suggested.

Max nodded. He hated how he suddenly felt so sick, things were just going the way he wanted them to go, and then he had to go and ruin it all again.

Daniel grabbed Max’s arm and put it around his shoulder, then helped him walk outside to Daniel’s car. He tried to avoid people as much as possible, Max didn’t need the media to take pictures, videos, and write god knows what about him in this state. The sooner they could get to the hotel, the better.

When they finally arrived at the hotel room, Daniel put Max down on one of the chairs. Max didn’t look good, he had gotten quite pale, he couldn’t walk without Daniel’s help, and he seemed to struggle to keep his eyes open as well. At first Daniel was just going to drop Max off, but he couldn’t leave Max alone while he looked like this.

Max reached his hand out to Daniel, trying to grab his shirt to get his attention as he was mumbling something.

Daniel kneeled down in front of Max. “What is it? What do you need Maxy?” he asked, looking pretty worried.

“B.. bathroom..” Max whispered, his hands already moving to Daniel’s neck.

Daniel tried to get Max on his feet, but when it didn’t work he ended up just picking Max up and carrying him to the bathroom. Max immediately kneeled down in front of the toilet and gripped the seat with both of his hands. Daniel sat down next to him, rubbing his back, and then stroked his hair as Max started coughing.

Max felt nauseous, constantly felt like he could throw up any time, but it didn’t come, instead he was left with the horrible feeling that came with it. He was panting by now, swallowing harshly, trembling, and the dizziness hadn’t gone away yet either. He laid his head on his hand so he could look at Daniel, and then bit his lip.

Daniel gave him a small smile, still rubbing his back. He placed a kiss on Max’ head, and then moved away. Max whined and grabbed Daniel’s arm, tugging on it to try and get him to stay, but it didn’t work. However, a few seconds later Daniel turned back to Max, toilet paper in his hand, and he used it to wipe some drool off of Max’s chin. He then took hold of Max’s hand and moved his thumb over Max’s knuckles.

Max swallowed hard again as tears began to form in his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and stop them from coming, but a single droplet already made its way down Max’s cheek. He opened his eyes again when he felt Daniel’s fingers stroke his cheek, wiping away the single tear. Max was about to open his mouth to thank Daniel, but then a wave of nausea hit him again and he buried his head in the toilet seat, this time emptying his stomach.

Once Max stopped throwing up and lifted his head again, Daniel wiped his mouth clean. Max let out a deep breath and sat back a little, finally feeling a bit better. Daniel pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Max and laying Max’s head against his shoulder. Max immediately closed his eyes, finally being able to relax a little.

Daniel leaned against the bathroom wall as he rubbed Max’s arm. He looked down at Max, who was still shaking slightly, his breathing still a little irregular as well. Daniel kissed the top of Max’s head, and Max snuggled closer to Daniel. He listened to Daniel’s heartbeat and tried to copy his breathing to calm himself down. Daniel moved one hand to Max’s hair, running his fingers through it, massaging Max’s scalp, and Max let out a content sigh in return.

Max was a few seconds away from falling asleep when Daniel called out his name. He opened his eyes and looked up, catching Daniel stare at him.

“Do you feel better?” Daniel asked softly.

Max gave Daniel a small smile and nodded a little. “Thanks” he said, his voice hoarse from being sick.

“No problem Maxy, I should get going now, so you can rest” Daniel replied, smiling back at Max. He slowly got up, but before he could leave Max grabbed his hand.

“No, please stay” Max begged, watching Daniel with sad eyes.

Daniel let out a small sigh. “Alright, as long as you don’t end up puking on me” he joked, chuckling lightly.

Max’s face lit up and he nodded again. Daniel smiled again and ruffled Max’s hair. He wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to stay, but he just couldn’t say no to Max, especially when he made a sad face like that.

Daniel helped Max get on his feet, and Max held onto Daniel as they walked to the bed together. Max could easily walk on his own again, he would have been fine on his own as well, but he just wanted the company. He didn’t just want any company, he wanted Daniel, he wanted to be close to Daniel, to cuddle up against him, to listen to his heartbeat again. It was a very weird feeling, because Max never was the kind of person to like sappy, romantic stuff like that, but somehow Daniel brought all of that out of him.

Max sat down on the bed and started with taking off his socks. He paused when he was about to lift up his shirt, taking a glance at Daniel, waiting for his reaction. Daniel had walked to the other side of the bed, sat down as well and moved his legs onto the bed before looking at Max.

“You’re going to strip down?” Daniel asked awkwardly, feeling stupid after the words left his mouth. What else was Max going to do? He definitely didn’t seem like a pajama kind of guy.

Max nodded. “It’s hot” he answered.

“It’s not” Daniel replied, a little confused. He lifted the covers and threw them over his body, but after just a few seconds he moved them away again. “It is” he stated.

Max giggled, and when Daniel started taking off his clothes he did the same. They both left their underwear on, there was no way that was coming off.

It was a big bed, big enough for two people to roll around without bothering each other, which wasn’t really ideal to Max. It meant that he couldn’t just sneakily get closer to Daniel, he couldn’t pretend he was sleeping and lie against his teammate, it would be too obvious. Max bit his lip, he just had to swallow his pride and go for it, pray that Daniel was okay with it and that his actions from earlier were genuine. He just had to hope he didn’t interpreted the small lip touching moment in a different way from how Daniel did.

Max shuffled closer, not saying a word and stopped when he was on his side, right next to Daniel, who was already laying on his back. Max grabbed Daniel’s arm and lay his head on Daniel’s shoulder, then quickly closed his eyes. He was scared to find out how Daniel would react, he’d rather be pushed away than see the disapproving look Daniel could give him.

Daniel stared at Max for a few seconds, unsure of what exactly was going on. When Max didn’t move, didn’t say anything, Daniel pulled his arm back from Max. Max hung his head a little and was ready to move to his side of the bed, but Daniel surprised him by putting his arm around Max, pulling him even closer. Max laid his hand on Daniel’s chest and moved his thumb over it a few times, a smile visible on his face. Daniel ran his hand through Max’s hair, then over his arm, and when Max didn’t respond Daniel figured he must’ve fallen asleep. Daniel planted a kiss on the top of Max’s head and then closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.


	5. Texas

This time it was Daniel looking for Max, Daniel who was worried about how Max was feeling. The season had been quite frustrating, especially for Max, and Max really didn’t need the bullshit that had happened today. Daniel didn’t care that much about his own race at the moment, he had to retire the car because of yet another mechanical failure for his team, but he had time to reflect on what happened, and Max’ unluckiness was very fresh.

He found Max at the press area, wrapping up his last interviews. Max didn’t look happy, he looked quite annoyed, but not as angry as Daniel had expected him to be. He looked.. calm? Maybe defeated, Daniel couldn’t really place the look on Max’s face. He thought by now he would be able to tell how Max was feeling just by looking at him, but Max’s face was a mystery to Daniel at that moment.

Daniel pulled Max aside as soon as he had a chance. “Hey, Max, how are you feeling”? he immediately asked.

Max looked at Daniel and gave him a smile. “Hey, I’m good, did you come here just to see me?” Max answered.

“Y-yeah, uh, aren’t you upset about the penalty? About getting kicked out of the cool down room again?” Daniel continued to ask. Something seemed very off about Max.

Max shrugged in response. “I don’t really care anymore, there’s nothing I can do about it anyway”.

Daniel stared at Max, and then shook his head. He grabbed Max’s arm and dragged him off, so that they could talk in private. He locked the door once he found a place, and then turned back to Max, placing his hands on Max’s shoulders.

“Okay, you can be honest with me now, how do you feel?” Daniel asked once again.

“I told you, I’m good” Max repeated himself.

“Are you sure?” Daniel continued, looking straight into Max’s eyes.

Max sighed a little. “Well, I’m annoyed about it, yeah, but like I said, there’s nothing I can do about it. Christian said he would see if there was anything he could do, so I just have to wait and see” He answered, shrugging again.

“You’re really not upset about the podium taken away from you?” Daniel replied, he needed to be sure.

“I knew what I did officially wasn’t allowed, after the move there already was a voice in the back of my head saying that I’d get punished for it, and it still doesn’t take away the great race I had, I came from 16th place and crossed the line as third, that’s still something to be proud of, even more because it wasn’t raining” Max explained. “Why are you so worried about me anyway? You’re the one who could have definitely made the podium if it wasn’t for the engine being shit again”.

This time it was Daniel who shrugged. “It’d be kind of ironic if I’d get really upset over it after what I told you in Singapore, I’m just following my own advice” he answered.

“And you’re surprised when I don’t follow your advice?” Max chuckled.

Daniel’s cheeks faintly turned pink. “I just, I didn’t expect you to actually listen to me, and this is something any driver would get furious over, this is even the second time it happened to you” he responded.

“Yeah see that’s what I’m annoyed about, it’s like they’re out to get me, just me” Max sighed, then crossed his arms. “Valtteri can knock Kimi out of the race twice, me being involved one of those times, and he gets zero consequences, Seb can turn into Lewis and just gets away with a 10 second penalty, but when I hit you..” Max trailed off once he realized what he was saying. “Oh.. sorry..” he added.

“No, it’s fine, I get what you mean” Daniel said, squeezing Max’s shoulder.

“Okay.. well.. this week loads of drivers go off the track too, some surely gaining an advantage, but that’s all cool and fine, but when I do it to evade Kimi, if I hadn’t done that we could have both been out because of a crash, I’m out here preventing a crash and what do I get?” Max finished his trail of thoughts, letting out a frustrated groan after he was done.

“I know, it’s not fair, it was a really nice move as well” Daniel replied.

“It was! Could have easily been move of the year, but I guess the FIA is tired of seeing me do well. …Maybe they even sabotaged our engine!” Max responded, chucking at the end.

“That would make so much sense” Daniel joined in.

“First they go after me because they just hate me, and now you’re the unlucky one so that Kimi can pass you in the championship” Max grinned.

“I’m not going to let that happen” Daniel smiled. “Ah maybe you should have taken Kimi out just to help me”.

Max started to laugh. “Maybe I should have”.

Daniel smiled at Max. It really seemed Max wasn’t as upset as Daniel thought he would be, which was somewhat surprising considering all the bad luck Max already had. Daniel figured that stuff like this would get him back to feeling defeated, but it seems the win and second place in a row boosted up Max’s self-confidence and spirit. Maybe he was more worried than usual because he had seen Max frustrated so many times this season.

Max smiled back at Daniel, and they ended up staring at each other for a couple of seconds. Daniel’s hand moved from Max’s shoulders to his face, and then he pulled Max in for a hug. He was fairly sure Max would be completely fine with the hug, but there was a voice in his head nagging at him, saying that he was pushing it, that Max didn’t want this.

Things had been a little confusing after the Malaysia race. After Max had woken up from his nap he acted as if everything was normal, as if the two of them sleeping so close together was the most normal thing in the world. They had dinner together, in bed, and Max had asked Daniel to stay the night. When it was time to sleep, they each stayed on their separate side, but it didn’t take long for Max to get closer to Daniel, with the excuse that he was cold. They ended up spooning, something Daniel had never expected, he was certain Max didn’t like spooning, but Max was the one who initiated it.

That whole night had confused the fuck out of Daniel. He didn’t know what Max wanted, if they were just really good friends or if there was more, maybe Max felt so sick that night that it was all a one-time thing. He did notice Max being more touchy with him the day after, but it wasn’t anything big, it wasn’t anything obvious, it could have all been in his head too. Daniel really didn’t know what to think of it.

The next race didn’t clear much up for Daniel either, which was rather disappointing. A double podium at Suzuka was great, wonderful even, and Daniel had hoped that the excitement of it all would bring him and Max closer together, but there was barely any time for them to bond. The team wanted to celebrate, big, to give a more positive spin to what had been a difficult season so far, and it resulted in Max and Daniel basically having no time to do more personal things. They couldn’t sneak off, could barely say a sentence to each other without someone trying to join in on their conversation, it was all very frustrating to Daniel. He just wanted to know where they stood, what to do, if he should keep his hopes up or not, but in fear of ruining things he decided to not talk about it at all.

“Hey, you’re not crying this time” Daniel joked as they had both moved back.

Max playfully rolled his eyes. “Just because you’re the only person I cry with, doesn’t mean I cry every time” Max responded.

Daniel chuckled a little. “Alright, you ready to get out of here?” he then asked.

“Yeah definitely” Max answered, smiling.

“Let’s go then, I’ll even let you decide what we’re going to do” Daniel replied, as he opened the door and walked out.

“Fifa!” Max grinned as he hurried after Daniel.

“Fine, but I’m on your team, I’m not in the mood to get my ass kicked” Daniel said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I know everyone was expecting something different but this felt more appropriate, even though I'm not too happy with the way this turned out either


	6. Mexico

Another win. Max couldn’t believe it. If you had asked him after the first race if he could win two races with this car, he would have been very doubtful. If you had asked him after all the races he couldn’t finish, he would have laughed, he would have thought it was a joke because there was no way. Here he was though, on the highest step of the podium once again, getting the biggest trophy.

He should have been ecstatic, should have been crazy excited, but in the back of his mind he was feeling sorry for Daniel. He knew how it felt, had experienced it the first half of the season, and it was tough seeing his beloved teammate now go through the same struggles. While he was still celebrating on the podium he decided he’d look for Daniel, see how he was doing.

Luckily Daniel wasn’t hard to find, he had stuck around to watch the entire race, and was about to leave when Max found him. Max ran over to him, big smile on his face, and stopped right in front of Daniel.

“Hey Maxy, congratulations on your win” Daniel smiled back at Max. He didn’t really have anything to smile about, but he couldn’t resist smiling when Max was all happy in front of him.

“Hey Dan, thanks, I’m really happy my bad luck has turned around, I’m sorry I kind of passed it on to you though” Max replied.

“Don’t be sorry, that’s not your fault at all, it helps that I’ve already had good races” Daniel said, patting Max’s shoulder. “I was watching your race, had a hard time slowing down huh?” he then grinned.

Max’s cheeks turned a faint red as he scratched the back of his neck. “Uh yeah, I was in the zone you know? Had a good pace going so it was hard to slow down” he confessed.

Daniel laughed and squeezed Max’s cheek. “Yeah I know all about that, your moves on Seb were great too, it’s really nice seeing you in such a good mood” Daniel responded.

Max swatted Daniel’s hand away and rubbed his cheek. “It’s because of what you said to me” he said, then looked down, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Because I said what?” Daniel asked.

“After the Singapore race, when you told me every race weekend was a new fight. All the bad luck was really getting to me and, I just needed someone to tell me that, I just needed to get some motivation back” Max explained, still looking at the ground.

Daniel put his finger under Max’s chin and lifted his head, then smiled at him when their eyes met. “That’s what friends do, I’m really glad I could help you out” he replied.

“Thank you” Max said, smiling back.

It was quiet for a few seconds until Daniel spoke up. “You want to come along? I’ll give you something for winning today”.

“Yeah, sure” Max responded, and followed Daniel to his motorhome.

Once they were inside, Daniel put Max on the couch and told him to close his eyes. Max did as he was told, tried to sneakily peek to see what Daniel was up to, but Daniel caught him, made him turn around to make sure he wouldn’t ruin the surprise. Max tried to figure out what it could be by the noise he was hearing, but he ended up more confused than before.

“Okay, you can look now” Daniel said.

Max opened his eyes and immediately started laughing, Daniel was holding a can of red bull in front of Max, smiling sheepishly. “This is what I get for winning?” he asked.

“Sorry, I don’t have anything else I can give you” Daniel chuckled, then sat down next to Max.

“I appreciate the gesture” Max replied, as he opened the can.

“Wow Max, using such complex words, your English is getting better!” Daniel responded, snickering lightly.

Max snorted and pushed his shoulder against Daniel’s. “Shut up I’ve always been good at English” he said in his defense.

“If that’s what you want to believe” Daniel mumbled, knowing that Max could hear him.

Max playfully rolled his eyes and drank from his red bull. “Some sugar after a race is always nice” he then said.

“You’re not getting sick again right?” Daniel asked, already placing a hand on Max’s forehead.

“I feel fine, don’t worry, I promise I won’t throw up this time” Max smiled.

“Good” Daniel replied, then sighed. “You had me worried, when you were sick. Your skin looked almost white, I’ve never seen you like that before” Daniel added.

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that” Max responded, looking at Daniel.

Daniel shook his head. “No don’t apologize, I’m glad I was there to look after you, and it didn’t last very long” he said, staring back at Max.

“I’m glad you were there too” Max replied, smiling before taking a sip from his drink again.

Max shuffled closer to Daniel, pressing their shoulders together. Daniel swallowed harshly, feeling his heart beat all the way up in his throat. Having Max so close to him was driving him crazy, it was incredibly difficult to control himself. He was already tempted to run his fingers through Max’s hair just now, but since he didn’t know how Max would react he felt like it was best not to.

Daniel ended up moving his arm, putting it behind Max on the back of the couch. Max shifted down, laying his head on Daniel’s shoulder. Daniel’s heart was beating louder and louder as he put his hand on Max’s shoulder. Max sighed contently, and Daniel bit his lip.

Single life had been hard for Daniel, after he and his high school sweetheart decided to break up he struggled with a lot of things. He struggled to accept that they had just fallen out of love, that it wasn’t anyone’s fault and that in the end it was the best decision. He struggled with life in general as well, some days just felt bland, like everything he had to do was a chore, even things he would normally enjoy. There had been one speck of light though, one person that could bring a smile to his face no matter how lonely he was feeling, and that person was Max.

Slowly, Max turned from a speck of light into the sun to Daniel, someone he couldn’t live without anymore. Daniel was very thankful of all the activities their team made them do, giving him more time with Max, and all of it was a whole lot of fun too. He was sure that it had brought them closer together, sharing all these different and fun experiences, doing the livestreams with them as well, it helped Daniel learn a lot of things about Max he probably would have missed out on otherwise.

“Max?” Daniel asked, to which Max hummed in response. “What are we..?” he continued.

“Teammates” Max answered without thinking.

“No, I mean.. Are we just friends? Are we friends who are just.. very touchy with each other.. friends with benefits or.. more than friends..?” Daniel asked again.

Max went silent for a few minutes, and Daniel almost thought he really fucked it up this time. “I.. I’d like to be more than friends..” Max admitted quietly.

“Me too” Daniel replied, then laid his head on top of Max’s.

Max put his hand on Daniel’s leg, moving his fingers slightly. “.. Does that mean we’re boyfriends now?” Max asked.

“Yeah, if you want that” Daniel answered, squeezing Max’s shoulder lightly.

Max nodded against Daniel’s shoulder. “I really want that” he mumbled, half hoping Daniel wouldn’t hear it and half hoping he would. This is what he wanted for a long time, but he’d never dare to admit that.

Daniel smiled and placed a kiss on Max’s head. “Uh, it may be better to keep it a secret from everyone, I don’t know what my family’s going to think of this..” he said.

“I’m pretty sure my mom and sister will be happy for me, they just want me to be happy no matter what, but my dad.. He’s great and I’m very grateful for everything he’s done for me but I’m fairly sure he would not accept this..” Max replied, biting his lip.

“Yeah, the engineers will probably be weirded out by it as well” Daniel added.

“The drivers too”.

“And can you imagine the media, they will go crazy”.

Max giggled a little. “Pretty sure everyone would go crazy, an F1 driver dating another guy? Especially his teammate? People could write so much drama about that” he said.

“And Christian! I can’t imagine what Christian would do if he were to find out” Daniel chuckled lightly.

“He’d kill us for sure” Max laughed.

“All the more reasons to keep it a secret”.

Max suddenly let out a shaky sigh and moved even closer to Daniel.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked, his voice sounding worried.

“I’m scared Dan.. of everything that could happen..” Max answered, trying to bury his face into Daniel’s shoulder.

Daniel pulled Max onto his lap, so that Max was straddling him, and started to rub his back. “Talk to me” he simply said.

Max sighed again, his arms wrapping around Daniel’s shoulders. “I’m scared of people finding out.. We don’t know what sponsors will still support us.. Maybe we’re not even allowed to drive anymore.. And.. I’m mostly scared what will happen if we.. what if we’re not.. compatible..” he confessed, gripping Daniel’s shirt again.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to” Daniel replied.

Max moved back a little, leaning his forehead against Daniel’s as he stared into his eyes. Daniel could see Max’s eyes had gotten slightly red, and his cheeks were wet too. “No.. I really, really want to be with you, being friends isn’t enough for me anymore.. when I’m with you.. everything just feels right, I feel like I can really be myself around you” Max confided.

Daniel was at a loss of words, hearing Max say all that, it felt like he was dreaming. It was the best dream he ever had, and he was terrified to wake up and find out it all wasn’t real. He placed his hands on Max’s cheeks, wiping the tears away, and smiled softly. “I smile more because of you” he responded.

Max rubbed his eyes and smiled back at Daniel. “Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, you make me so happy Max, I wish I could take all your stress and sadness away, I just want to make you happy every day” Daniel answered, still rubbing his thumbs over Max’s cheeks.

“You do make me happy” Max reassured Daniel, resting his hands on Daniel’s chest.

“I’m glad to hear that” Daniel smiled. “And, how about we just take things slow, do everything at our own pace, we don’t have to rush into anything, we have all the time in the world” he added.

“But what if one of us switches team?” Max asked.

“That’s not going to stop me from being with you, I’ll sneak into your garage every day and secretly borrow you for a few hours, no one will know it was me” Daniel answered, his smile growing.

Max giggled lightly. “Won’t it be suspicious if both you and I disappear around the same time every day?” he continued to ask.

“Shut up no one will notice because by then I will have come up with the most genius plan” Daniel chuckled.

“Alright” Max chuckled. “And let’s do that, I like taking it slow” he then said.

“Kind of ironic that we’re taking it slow, when we’re driving the fastest cars on the planet” Daniel grinned.

Max shook his head smiling and was about to move his head back to his favourite spot, but Daniel stopped him. “Wait, before we go back to cuddling, can I.. Can I kiss you?” he asked.

“You don’t have to ask dummy” Max responded.

“Well, I just want to make sure you’re okay with it and I don’t end up d-“ Daniel said in his defense, but Max cut him off.

“Just kiss me”.

Daniel bit his lip and nodded. He pulled Max’s face closer, closing his own eyes when he could feel Max’s breath against his lips. He waited a second, giving Max one last chance to back out, but instead Max closed the distance himself.


	7. Abu Dhabi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is really late compared to the other chapters, I wanted to add more to it but suddenly I got quite busy and didn't have a lot of time to write, and when I did have time I could sometime barely get one sentence down on paper (or word). I wanted to finish it the way I had in mind but now I realize that it's just going to take too much time, so I will upload what I originally had planned. If I ever get to finish the other stuff I could add it as a bonus chapter, but as for now this will be the end

Max played with Daniel’s fingers as he stared at the ceiling. The season had just ended, they had driven their last race, given their last post-race interviews, it was always a little surreal. Max was glad it was finally over, this season had gone a lot different from what he expected, and he was more than ready to leave all the bad luck behind. On the other hand though, he never wanted the season to end. No more races meant less time spent with Daniel, something he had been dreading for a while.

Daniel looked down, taking in the sight of Max’s head laying on his chest. Daniel smiled, despite his disappointing end of the season. His fingers ran through Max’s soft hair, getting encouraged by Max humming contently. “I’m glad that you’re here” he said after some more time had passed.

Max looked up at Daniel and smiled as he laid Daniel’s hand on his chest, putting his own hands over it. “Me too” he responded.

“It’s nice to finally be alone with you, I didn’t think keeping it a secret from everyone would be so hard” Daniel sighed.

“I’m kind of surprised no one has found out yet, I feel like I’m being so obvious every time I’m around you” Max replied, letting the fingers of one of his hands run over Daniel’s arm.

Daniel chuckled lightly. “It’s really cute, watching you realize you need to keep your distance a little more and then ending up right next to my side again”.

“Shut up, I’m not cute” Max huffed.

“You so are”.

“Then you are cute too”.

“I’m fine with that” Daniel replied, smiling to himself as he looked at the ceiling again.

Max groaned. “That’s not fair”.

“Just embrace it Maxy, it’s the easy thing to do” Daniel chuckled, grabbing Max’s head and shaking it a little.

“I won’t be cute anymore when I’m ten times world champion” Max grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Ten times? You haven’t even won the championship once” Daniel laughed, ruffling Max’s hair.

“Yeah but I could if I wanted to! I could even win it fifteen times! I still have so many years of racing ahead of me, unlike you, you’d be lucky if you win it once” Max said, grinning as he looked at Daniel.  
Daniel gasped. “You take that back right now” Daniel responded sternly.

“Or what?” Max’s grin grew, mischievous look in his eyes.

“Or I’ll tickle you to death, then you won’t be able to win any championships” Daniel threatened, grinning too.

Max quickly turned around, pinning Daniel’s arms to the bed. “Try”.

Daniel spread his arms, catching Max off guard, and immediately took his chance to grab Max by his shoulders and flip them around. Daniel sat on top of Max’s hips, holding both of his wrists with one hand, as the other made its way down Max’s body. Max wiggled, struggling to get his hands free from Daniel’s grip. His eyes widened when Daniel’s hand slipped under his shirt, but instead of getting tickled, Daniel just placed his hand on Max’s stomach.

“This is your last chance” Daniel grinned, teasing Max a little by letting his fingers move over Max’s stomach.

“I will never surrender!” Max responded, determination written on his face.

“Alright, you asked for it” Daniel said, as his hand slid over Max’s skin to where Daniel knew he was ticklish.

Max pressed his lips together, trying to keep himself from showing any sort of reaction, but he gave in within seconds. He was a giggling mess, squirming underneath Daniel, as he tried to break free. Daniel pushed Max’s hands onto the pillow, above Max’s head, to get a better grip. His other hand explored more of Max’s body, finding all the spots that would make Max laugh.

Max lasted a lot longer than Daniel expected, he had gotten to a point where his breathing had sped up and he was gasping for air in between laughter. Daniel was about to stop, to admit defeat, but Max beat him to it.

“Okay! Okay you win! Please stop!” Max begged.

Daniel immediately stopped and let go of Max’s hands. Max kept his hands above his head, closing his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. It took a minute or so for Max to finally calm down.

“I’m sorry, you could win at least 5 times before you retire” Max said after opening his eyes again.

Daniel smiled wide, then leaned forward to give Max a kiss. “Thank you, that’s so nice of you Maxy”.

Max smiled back at Daniel, and they stared at each other for a few minutes before Daniel got off of Max. He laid down next to Max, body turned to his teammate as he was laying on his side. Max shifted on his side too, facing Daniel, and grabbed his hand.

“That was fun” Daniel chuckled lightly.

“It was a lot less fun for me” Max replied, still smiling.

“Oh come on, you were laughing the entire time” Daniel teased.

“Yeah because I almost got tickled to death! You would have gotten in serious trouble with Christian if that happened”.

“Well luckily he will never find out”.

Max smile faded after a couple of seconds, and he looked away from Daniel’s eyes, to his hands. “Say.. Daniel.. If the car is good next season, like, good enough to actually fight for the championship, do you think we’ll end up like.. like Lewis and Nico..?” Max asked.

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it again. He needed to think it through, didn’t want to give Max the easy answer of ‘of course not’, when he wasn’t even sure himself. He wanted to give Max an honest answer.

“Depends, if we both become so focused on winning it then, I guess so, but if we stay a team, if we both just want the other to do their best, then I’m sure nothing will change between us” Daniel explained.

“So, basically as long as we don’t get jealous of each other for doing better than the other, you think we’ll be fine?” Max continued to ask.

“Yes, we need to keep the respect we have for each other now. It’s alright to get a little mad sometimes, as long as the anger fades quickly. Also not hitting each other will probably help out a lot” Daniel answered.

Max averted his eyes again, this time looking down at his own arms.

“But that might be inevitable, and then all that matters is that it wasn’t on purpose and that I don’t get ridiculously mad again” Daniel quickly added.

Max slowly looked up at Daniel again. “You had every right to be mad, I ended your race, you were doing really well” Max mumbled.

“I had a right to be mad, yes, but what I did was extremely over the top, I made it out to be way worse than it actually was, and I have to work on that. It was really unfair of me to react the way I did to you, I mean, I made you so upset that you were crying when you apologized” Daniel responded.

Max bit his lip, unsure of what to say.

“To be honest, it was kind of cute seeing you like that, all upset because you hit me, and it made me feel special too, you were so worried about me hating you, made me feel like I really mean a whole lot to you. I think that was the first time I suspected you saw me as more than a friend” Daniel said, as he ran his fingers over the back of Max’s hand. “I regret not telling you that I already liked you too back then”.

Max gave Daniel a small smile. “I’ve had feelings for you for a long time, but it also took me a long time to figure out what exactly those feelings were, I don’t know if I would have been ready for anything if you confessed then and there” Max explained.

“So in the end everything worked out for the best?” Daniel questioned.

“Yeah, or well I think so” Max replied, squeezing Daniel’s hand.

Another silence, comfortable silence, in which Max and Daniel both just looked at each other and wondered how they got so lucky. Max moved a little closer, and Daniel responded by putting his hand on Max’s side.

“Daniel?” Max suddenly asked.

“Yeah?”.

“I will.. I promise I will try to stay a good teammate, I don’t know how competitive I will get if I have a chance to win.. but I’ll definitely try my best to stay nice to you” Max said, looking at their hands, feeling a little embarrassed about what he just said.

Daniel smiled and squeezed Max’s side lightly. “I promise I’ll do the same, I’ll put a reminder on my phone if I have to” he replied, chuckling lightly at the last part.

“Maybe we should make matching shirts, so that every time we see each other we get reminded to be nice” Max joked in return.

Daniel started to laugh. “I like that idea, I wonder if any store would make something like that”.

“Pretty sure they’ll have some text that’s similar enough on a woman’s shirt” Max said, smiling wide.

“Uuhh, I don’t know if I’m willing to wear woman’s clothing for you” Daniel answered, smile matching Max’s.

“Oh come on, I’m sure you’ll look really hot in it” Max snickered.

Daniel laughed again. “I think I’m good, wouldn’t mind seeing you in it though” he grinned.

“Hey, only if you do it as well” Max responded, giving Daniel’s shoulder a little shove, causing Daniel to giggle.

More silence as Daniel’s giggle died down. Max played with Daniel’s fingers again, a soft smile on his face, and Daniel just watched him, other hand still on Max’s side. Daniel hadn’t felt this kind of happiness for a while, sure it was great to win races or just get on the podium, and it did make him really happy, but it was different. What he was feeling now was a simple kind of happiness, the kind you get from being with someone you really care about.

Max caught Daniel staring, cheeks heating up, and he turned down his face to hide it. Daniel moved closer and pressed his lips against Max’s forehead, causing Max’s eyes to closer and for Max to let out a soft sigh. When Daniel moved his head back, Max opened his eyes again and looked at him.

“Why did you do that?” Max asked.

Daniel shrugged, he didn’t really know why either. “Got you to look up again though” he smiled.

“Yeah I guess you did” Max replied, then put his hand on Daniel’s cheek and rubbed his thumb over it.

Daniel moved closer again, and Max closed his eyes, waiting for a kiss. Instead Daniel buried his face in Max’s shoulder, and Max got flashbacks to all the times he did that with Daniel. Max’s arms immediately wrapped themselves around Daniel’s body and held him tight. He stayed quiet and waited for Daniel to say or do something, but nothing happened. Daniel just sighed and pulled Max against him, and that’s when Max realized something.

“Are you crying?” Max asked surprised.

Daniel chuckled lightly, then sighed again. “Yeah, I thought, I’ve seen you cry a handful of times, now it’s time you see me cry” he answered.

“Why are you crying? Is it something I did?” Max continued, still very confused.

“No, well it kind of is but not in a bad way, it’s just a mixture of things, don’t worry about it” Daniel said, trying to get a hold of himself. He guessed that this is how Max must’ve felt every time he cried in front of Daniel, embarrassed that his teammate was seeing such a weak side of him.

“I am going to worry about it if you don’t tell me why” Max stated. He wasn’t trying to pressure Daniel into talking, he was just saying the truth, he hoped Daniel saw it the same way.

“Are you sure you want to hear my rambles? It’ll probably ruin the good mood”.

“Yeah, I’m sure, I want to be here for you, just like you’ve been there for me too” Max said, running his fingers over Daniel’s shoulder.

“Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you”. Daniel took a deep breath, tried to collect his thoughts and then let all of the air out of his body again. “I just, this season has been weird, with both of us having so much car trouble, and because of other things, and I was hoping I could have a good end to this season, so not finishing kind of.. really sucks..” Daniel paused to take another deep breath. “But at the same time it’s probably the best season I’ve ever had, and being here with you right now makes me so happy. Thinking about what you mean to me and how I feel when I look at you, it’s just a little overwhelming, so it’s a mixture of the sadness of the race and.. the happiness you bring me” Daniel confessed.

“That was so cheesy” Max responded.

Daniel started to laugh. “It was, wasn’t it? Man that was bad, I can’t believe I actually admitted that”.

“I’m glad you did though” Max mumbled to himself.

“What?” Daniel asked, moving his head so that he could press his forehead against Max’s and look him in the eyes.

Max looked back, moving his hand back so that he could wipe the remaining tears off of Daniel’s face. “Well, we haven’t really talked about what we feel, so to hear you say those things.. it’s nice..” Max answered, a red blush appearing on his cheeks again.

Daniel smiled softly. “Yeah you’re right, we should start doing that, communication is very important in a relationship”.

Those words made Max blush even harder. “Y-yeah, uh, can we start tomorrow?” he asked, looking at Daniel through his eyelashes.

“Sounds good to me, though I do want to say, that I feel like the happiest man on earth right now, because of you”.

“Me too, I feel the same” Max smiled, and then placed a kiss on Daniel’s forehead.


End file.
